Water-heater.



B. T. WILLISTON.

WATER HEATER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 10, 1912.

1 072 191 Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

Uliineaaev; fnrj zlor" 1 a MA A. w" M x UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BELVIN T. WILLISTON, 0F SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITED INJECTGR oomramz, OF NEW YORK,

N. Y., A OORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WATER-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BELVIN T. WILLISTON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Somerville, in the county of Middlcsex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Water- Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for heating water, and particularly to that class of such apparatus wherein water is heated by means of a steam jet which heats the water b condensation.

The particular object of my invention is to provide an automatic heater of this class which shall be adapted to use steam at low pressure and to regulate the quantity of steam admitted to the body of water, so that the temperature thereof shall not rise above a predetermined degree. My invention is, moreover, designed to enable exhaust steam from locomotive cylinders to be used for maintaining a suitably high temperature of the feed water supply carried in the tank, and for this reason sundry special features of my invention, herein to be described, are provided.

The advantage and utility of heating the feed water supply of a steam boiler have long been known, and in locomotive practice feed water has been heated by means of the boiler feeding injectors by causing the injectors to blow back live steam through the tank connection; but while this has, of course, sufficed to heat the water, there is no economy in the practice. On the other hand, by utilizing exhaust steam a saving is effected, which, measured in terms of the fuel consumed under the boiler, may under some conditions rise as high as 7 per cent. The boiler feeding injectors, however, are subject to certain limitations in respect to the temperature of feed water which the injector can eflicicntly force into the boiler, and therefore any feed water heating contrivance which is liable to overheat the feed water cannot be expected to meet with the approval of engineers.

My invention herein described provides a feed water heater which may be used effectively with exhaust steam and which automatically reduces or ceases its operation when the feed water in the tank has reached a practical predetermined limit of tempera ture.

In the drawings hereto annexed there is illustrated an example of my invention as embodied in a feed water heater, which is shown in vertical, longitudinal section.

There are various means for imparting the heat of steam to water in which said means may be immersed, such as steam coils, or steam tubes in which the steam itself does not mingle with the water to be heated, or ejectors by which the steam heats the water by mingling directly with it. Any means for imparting the heat of steam to water in which the heating means is submerged will serve: for purposes of illustration I show the heating means as an ejector, which I believe on the whole to be preferable.

Referring to the drawing, A generally represents the casing of the water heater, which is preferably made in the form of a casting in as many parts as may be required by the design of the instrument and the necessities of the foundry. The partitions in this casing divide it into several chambers, of which 1 is the steam chamber, 2 the steam tube or jet, and 3 the combining or circulating tube. A reducing valve presently to be described forms a partition or boundary for another chamber marked 4, which will be referred to as the back pressure chamber.

The heating and circulating portions of the apparatus comprise the essential members of the well-known ejector, namely, the steam tube S and the combining tube B, which in the instance shown is supplemented by a secondary water tube B The combining tube B has an inlet opening at L and an outlet at 0.

Steam is admitted to the instrument through the steam inlet S to which a pipe may be coupled to rovide a connection with. the exhaust channers associated with the steam cylinders of a locomotive engine. Steam which enters at this orifice S passes into the steam chamber 1 and fills that chamber, the back pressure chamber 4 and the jet space 2, and passes through the steam tube S to mingle with and heat the water in the tank. As the entire healing apparatus is intended to be immersed in the tank near the bottom thereof, steam which emerges from the tube S sets up a circulation of water which enters at L and emerges at 0, so that all of the water in the tank sooner r or :later passes through the heating appadensation or from the tank from passing ratus. 4 In order to prevent water elther of coninto the. exhaust steam connection through the orifice S, there'is provided a checkvalve- O, of which the stem O;-slides "in a suitable bearing in the bridge-bar B. This valve when closed rests upon the valve seat" C The admission of steam into the steam tube S is controlled by the reducing valve V, which comprises the piston valve VP and the disk valve V', the latter seating at V While the former is suitably packed to slide in the cylindrical bearing at A. The piston valve portion P is perforated at P so as to afford free entrance of steam into the back pressure chamber 4. The casing of the in strument is "perforated as at D and the aperture so made is under the control of "a valve 'D, which in turn is operated by a thermostat. In the instance here shown, the thermostat consists of a Bourdon tube T fixed at T and with its free end at T A rod T is fixed to the freeend T and enters asocket atT at the fixed'end of the tube. On the free end of the tube T the tube is attached to valve D by means of a pin D this pin havingsome play so that the movement of the Bourdon tube T is communicated to the valve D through the spring D The thermostat and its connections are in closed in a housing G secured to the-casing of the instrument by studs G. This housing G is entirely open at the sides, so that the Bourdon tube Tris immersed in the water 7 I of the tank. Adjustment of the thermostat the back plate L and in the bridge-bar B The operation of the above described apparatus is as follows: Connection being made to the exhaust steam of the engine through the aperture S and this steam connection being open, this steam finds its way into the heater by lifting the check valve C. Assuming that the water in the tank is cold,the regulating valve D will be drawn from its seat by the Bourdon tube T and consequently backv pressure on the reducing valve V cannot develop and such steam pressure as is produced in the chamber 1 will open the valve V if it is not already open. Steam thus passes into the jet chamber 2 and out from the steam tube S heating and circulating the water, and continues so to operate until the rise of temperature of the water has so far expanded the Bourdon tube amaze? The relief aperture D being closed; the vapor'pressure in the. back pressurefcham- .ber 4L approaches that chamber 1, and by reason of the lower vapor pressure maintained at the entrance in the steam Q 7:

of the tube chamber 2 the preponder-j ance of pressure is then established at the backof the valve V which moves to bring the valve V toward its seat V thus reducing the quantitg of steam which mayenter the steam tube This operation may result in completely for water heating purposes. j

closing the disk valve V upon its seat 1V"?, or, 1 Y 7 itmay be, under other conditions result inby its use in connection with a non-lifting injector, which can efficiently take and feed water at higher temperatures than are desirable in the case of lifting injectors; but whatever may be the desired temperature of the feed water, it can be determined and maintained by adjusting the thermostat which controls the behavior of the reduclng valve which in turn regulates the quantity of steam to be used for heating water.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: l r

1. The combinationinja water heater, of means adapted to impart the heat of steam to water in which such means is immersed,

a reducing valve to control admission of The advantage of feed water heaters of this character will perhaps be best obtained steam to, said means, comprising a relap tively large piston valve and a relatively small disk valve, the latter seating over the steam-entrance to said means, a casing'for said reducing valve, said casing being aper tured atjthe rear of the reducing valve, 2. 7

back pressure valve controlling said aperture, and a thermostat in control of the back pressure valve.

2. The combination in a water heater, of means adapted to impart the heat of steam to water in which such means is. immersed, a reducing valve to control admission of steam to said means, comprising a relatively large piston valve and a relatively small disk valve, the latter seating over the steam-entrance to said means, a check valve between the said heating means and the source of steam supply, a casing for said reducing valve, said casing being apertured, at the rear of the reducing valve, a back pressure valve controlling said aperture, and a thermostat in control of the back pressure valve.

3. The combination in a water heater, of

steam to said means, comprising a relatively large piston valve and a relatively small disk valve, said piston valve being provided with a small aperture, the disk valve seating over the steam entrance to said heating means, a casing for said reducing valve, apertured at the rear of said valve, a back pressure valve controlling said aperture in the casing, and a thermostat in control of the back pressure valve.

l. The combination in a water heater, of means adapted to impart the heat of steam to Water in which such means is immersed, a reducing valve to control admission of steam to said means, comprising a relatively large piston valve and a relativel small disk valve,'a check valve between said heating means and the source of steam supply, a casing for said reducing valve, said casing being apertured at the rear of the reducing valve, a back pressure valve controlling said aperture, and a thermostat to control the back. pressure valve.

5. The combination in a Water heater, of an ejector adapted to be immersed in liquid to be heated, said ejector comprising a casing whichcontains a steam chamber, a steam tube, a combinin tube, a reducing valve in the steam cham er to control the steam tube entrance, comprising a relativel large piston valve and a relatively small disk valve, the latter seating over the steam tube, the casing being apertured at the rear of the reducing valve; a back pressure valve controlling said aperture, and a thermostat in control of'the back pressure valve.

6. The combination in a water heater of an ejector adapted to be immersed in liquid to be heated, said ejector comprising a casing and within the casin a steam chamber, a steam tube and a com ining tube; a reducing valve in the steam chamber to control the steam tube entrance, comprising a relatively large piston valve and a relatively small disk valve to control the entrance to the steam chamber, the casing being apertured at the rear of the reducing valve, a back pressure valve controlling said aperture, and a thermostat in control of the back pressure valve.

7. The combination in a Water heater of an ejector adapted to be immersed in liquid to be heated, said ejector comprisin a casing and within the casing a steam c lumber, a steam tube, and a combining tube; a reducin valve in the steam chamber to control the steam tube entrance, comprising a relatively large piston valve, and a relatively small disk valve, said iston being provided with an aperture, the isk valve seating over the steam tube, the casin being apertured at the rear of the reducing valve, a back pressure valve controlling said aperture and a thermostat in control of the back pressure valve.

8. The combination in a water heater of an ejector adapted to be immersed in liquid to be heated, said ejector comprisin ia casing and within the casin a steam chamber, a steam tube, and a com ining tube; a reducin valve in the steam chamber to control t e steam tube entrance, com-prising a relatively large piston valve, and a relatively small disk valve, said piston valve bein provided with an aperture, the disk valve seating over the steam tube, a check valve to control the entrance to the steam chamber, the casing being apertured at the rear of the reducing valve, a back pressure valve controlling said aperture, and a thermostat in control of the back pressure valve.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this fourth day of May 1912.

BELVIN T. \VILLISTON.

Witnesses:

ODIN Bonnn'rs, JOSEPHINE H. RYAN. 

